Quarterfinals Review: Columbine Rebels vs Ralston Valley Mustangs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A look at a few top players from this quarterfinal rivalry matchup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Review</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game was a rematch of a game earlier in the year that was a lower scoring affair that Ralston Valley was able to win. This game was on my radar for game of the week because I thought it would be a tough matchup for both teams. From the opening kickoff it looked like a good game with Columbine starting with a great return. They then got their two headed monster going and were able to drive the ball down the field. The Rebels took the lead with a nice play-action pass for a beautiful touchdown to take a 7 to 0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff the Mustangs were able to even up the score on an 85 yard kick return touchdown. The Mustangs were able to sustain a drive by converting on a fourth down and were able to score on a bubble route. This put the Mustangs up 14-7 with time still left in the second quarter. The Mustangs defense was able to cause a fumble before half time setting the offense up in good field position. The Mustangs were able to punch it in on a bubble screen making the score 21-7 going into half. After this the Mustangs never looked back as the defense stepped up and was able to create multiple turnovers and special teams were able to get a turnover as well. Here are a couple players that I feel made the most impact on the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players of the Game</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='150203' first='Diano' last='Benallo'], Ralston Valley Mustangs (RB)(SR.)- With any of the Mustangs games Benallo makes an impact for his team. He looks bigger than he is actually listed at when you turn on the tape. His running style and vision gives him the ability to make explosive plays happen whenever he touches the ball. This is evident on his longest run of the day for 51 yards. He followed his blocks and looked like he was shot out of a cannon as he quickly flipped the field for his team. Benallo finished the day with 16 carries for 120 yards. He was not able to score but he put his team in scoring range and they were able to capitalize when given this chance. He will continue to be a key factor as they continue this playoff push. Benallo is a player that can do it all for the Mustangs, he is big for them in the kicking game as he hits his FGs and PATs. He is a scoring machine and will be a big factor for them as they continue to the final four.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eli Keith</strong>, Ralston Valley Mustangs (LB/LS)(SR.)- Keith made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball as he had a team high 17 total tackles, 6 solo with 11 assisted and caused 1 fumble. He is a player that reads his keys and comes up and makes the play. Is physical and uses his hands well when taking on blocks and is able to play both gaps with good hand placement. He got caught in the wash a couple times against the Rebels as he was trying to scrap over top but is a player that flies around and makes plays for the Mustangs. He has decent feet when he shuffles to get in position and can probably work on that to get a little faster in his shuffle. This does help him because he constantly found himself in the right position against the Rebels. At the next level will be a good player because he has a motor and is in on all the plays. He already has good size on him as he is (6'0, 205lbs) and this helps him now as he shows the strength to battle with the interior lineman now. He does give a little ground to those players but that is to be expected and can be worked on as he will probably put on some additional weight. With his physical play he was meeting the Rebels running backs in the hole and was stopping them in their tracks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jackson Hansen</strong>, Ralston Valley Mustangs (ATH)(JR.)- Hansen is a player that runs a lot of jet motion or bubble screens. He has good speed and can turn up field quickly. On his first touchdown reception he ran a quick slant and was able to turn it into points. He runs routes with speed and gets upfield quickly. He is an option player in this offense and they utilize him as sort of a decoy on some of the plays. This means that the defense respects his speed and knows he's a factor in the passing game. His second touchdown came quickly in the second quarter as the Mustangs were able to produce a great drive. They were able to extend the drive on a converted fourth down play. Hansen later score on this drive running a bubble play, where he stuck his foot in the ground and got upfield. He outran that DBs on that side of the field and was able to put the Mustangs up 14-7. He is a shifty player that uses speed to beat you and this will help the Mustangs in the next round as they will need all the explosive plays they can get. He is only a Junior so I see his role only growing next year as the Mustangs will also lose a couple key guys as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Notable Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='150157' first='Gunner' last='Schoepflin'] | 2023 DL/OL</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='247225' first='Jason' last='Thome'] | 2023 DB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Logan Madden</strong> | 2024 QB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->